The Economics Of... Finland's Indigenous Climate Concerns
The following initial research report on Finland’s indigenous perspective on Arctic climate concerns is a precursor assignment for submission to the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki.
Emissions from modernized trade infrastructure
The New York Times article titled “How Finnair’s Huge Bet on Faster Flights to Asia Suddenly Came Undone,” published on October 20th, details the impact of Russian aggression on Finnish flight capabilities. The Helsinki airport (HEL) has gone through a major transformation leading up to the pandemic to leverage their flight paths connecting Asia to Europe. Finnair’s comparative advantage for these flight paths was its access to Russian airspace, which has now closed for the foreseeable future, in spite of widespread COVID vaccination among developed nations. The NYT article depicts the heightened investment in HEL airport as an overinvestment in Finnair’s Asian customer base, namely their implementation of foreign-language signage and amenities aligned with Asian culture. While COVID was an early threat to returns on these investments in HEL, the recent impact of Russian military aggression has caused Finnair to officially refocus its services to the global West. This sacrifices investment in Finland’s transition to low-emissions air transportation.
The Arctic Center’s published report of “Key Findings” from the Office of the Finnish Prime Minister was published this spring as an English translation of their statement on modern Arctic cooperation amidst Russian aggression. The report encourages a clear reflection of Finland’s climate policy throughout their “green transition” plans. The energy crisis resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, is adversarial to the development of sustainable industrial practices, most notably low-emission innovation. According to IQAir, the “PM2.5 concentration in Lansi-Turunmaa is currently [10-27-22] 2.6 times the WHO annual air quality guideline value.” This city in northern Finland, known as Finland Proper, has the highest level of particulate matter size 2.5 micrometers or smaller in the Netherlands. The town of Paragas within the Paragas archipelago is a source of limestone mining, according to their tourism website, with an alternate name of “Malmen” or “The Ore,” indicating a long local history with industry and pollution. As a major occupation area of indigenous Finnish people, northern Finland will need to strategically rely on national and international authorities to reduce their climate concerns.
Visit Paragas: visitparainen.fi
Regional conflict’s impact on Finnish climate concerns
According to the Arctic Center’s Key Findings report, Finland’s Arctic policy is described as thematically focused on indigenous people’s capabilities for “research and emergency preparedness” (5). Finland's relationships with extra-Russian territories in the Arctic region will depend on their political reaction to Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine. One way to improve indigenous equity in Arctic politics is to support indigenous participation in international processes, from economic development to territorial defense. EU programs in particular could be leveraged in a hostile environment in the case of long-term noncooperation. Indigenous groups such as the Sámi Council acquiring permanent representation in global processes and regional programs would provide real-time context of this population’s state of wellbeing within Finland. The report also emphasizes the importance of up-to-date information in Arctic relations ranging from indigenous to hostile actors, i.e. the Sámi Council and Russian military.
Investment in indigenous climate solutions
The increased focus on America’s relationship building in the Arctic, according to the October 2022 “National Strategy for the Arctic Region” report, is a search for innovative solutions to regional challenges. Focusing on Alaskan policy as an Arctic actor, the National Strategy recognizes the state’s role in energy production as a climate liability. The proactive approach to these risks proposed by the report are preventative or efficient solutions to oil spills, pollutants, and natural resource mismanagement. A similar proposal of cooperation and co-management between Finnish national authorities and their indigenous population could address Finland’s domestic climate preparedness.
The Finnish branch of the Sámi Council, Central Organization of the Sámi (SSG), was founded in 1997 as Finland’s sole extension of the Sámi Council founded in 1917. The Tråante 2017 centennial celebration of the Sámi Council’s founding was marked by the return of an eighteenth century drum from Germany, acknowledging the Sámi indigenous culture as an important member of the Arctic population. The council further asserts its rights to self-determination in the 2017 Tråante Declaration- “Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Russian Federation, shall support and under no circumstances counteract the Saami people and the Saami nation's efforts to establish a common Saemiedigkie” (2). This is the native term used for the Sami Parliament, disclosing on their website in January 2022 their decision to establish a parliament building in Östersund, Sweden. Additionally, 2009 Act on National Minorities and Minority Languages (the Minority Act) guarantees the right of Sámi and other minority people to access municipal services in their native language, extending to Finnish administration areas. These measures will not only empower indigenous communities to sustain development, but it will also enable their participation in climate discussions as a self-determining population.
Sources
Finnair article
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/National-Strategy-for-the-Arctic-Region.pdf
TRÅANTE_DECLARATION_english.pdf (unfccc.int)
Sámi Parliament - Sámi Parliament (sametinget.se)
Lansi-Turunmaa Air Quality Index (AQI) and Finland Air Pollution | IQAir
Things to do in the city of Pargas | Visit Pargas (visitparainen.fi)